(A) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light emitting diode (LED) lamp, and more particularly, to an LED lamp and heat-dissipating waterproof cover thereof with heat-dissipating and waterproofing functions.
(B) Description of the Related Art
In recent years, LEDs have demonstrated advantages of small size, low power consumption, long life, and endurance of vibration, and have been increasingly applied to various display applications. Due to recent increases in oil prices, LEDs with superior power saving efficiency may replace traditional lamps for illumination.
In comparison with incandescent lamps, LEDs can reduce power consumption by more than 40%. Thus, LEDs are being introduced in various illumination fields as part of power-saving plans in every country.
However, the high-power LED illumination lamp generates large amounts of heat. If the heat cannot dissipate efficiently, the efficiency and the lifetime of LEDs is limited.
Current LED illumination technology has some limitations, including: (1) the lamp cannot provide a heat dissipating path for hot air passing through the lamp from bottom to top; (2) the waterproof cover of the lamp overlies the entire lamp, so that the heat exchange with cool air only occurs at the sides of the lamp, which is not advantageous to heat convection with vertical exchange behavior; (3) because of poor heat dissipation, heat accumulates at the center of the lamp more than at the edges; (4) the lamp does not provide function of drain and guidance of flow; (5) any increase in the size of the heat dissipating holes at sides of the lamp would increase heat dissipating efficiency, but would decrease the waterproofing and rainproofing capability; (6) a waterproof mechanism has to be combined with heat process, inducing high cost and lack of flexibility; (7) the heat dissipating efficiency of the horizontal fins of the lamp is not good; and (8) the heat dissipating fins enclosed by the waterproof cover cannot perform convection with external cool air.
To maintain the heat-dissipating and waterproofing functions of the LED lamps at the same time is a difficult problem, and a breakthrough is needed to address both issues effectively.